Pornography Can Damage Your Child’s Self-Image

Sue's family policy mode programs produced by the North Carolina family policy called a profamily restriction is an Optima studio here is John Rustin president North Carolina family policy Council. Thank you for joining us this week for family policy matters.

It is our pleasure to have Dr. Michelle Critelli with us on the program.

Dr. Critelli is president of the American College of pediatricians, which is a national organization of pro-life pediatricians and other healthcare professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children. She is a board-certified general pediatrician, with a focus on adolescent health. Dr. Critelli is with us today to discuss a recent policy statement from the American College of pediatricians that highlights the harms or pornography for children Dr. Critelli welcome to the program. Well, it's great to have you back on family policy matters before we begin our conversation. I do want to alert parents that were gonna be talking about an important but somewhat difficult topic today. Of course we will endeavor to keep it as PG as possible, but some parents may want to wait and listen to the show later oman@ncfamily.org home working on a family policy Council's website again that since he family.org, particularly if little ears are listening in and with Dr. Critelli. Pornography has become widespread throughout our society, especially due to sexually explicit material on the Internet. We know there is a substantial risk that young people will be exposed to pornography online at some point, either by accident intentionally or because someone in their vicinity may be viewing it as well. From your experience, how great is the risk and at what age are we seeing Boys and Girls Club exposed to pornography) Are, we have a proliferation of cell phone phone younger and younger Evening great going back down with access to the Internet on chances and act gently coming across plant and point is probably close to hundred present for most CAD I can tell you that five years ago there was one study that found 30% of freshman and sophomore high school student reported that they first were exposed to point at age 10.

Ellen and I can tell you now I'm I'm practice Rhode Island and Connecticut and appear that it often the case, kids as young as nine or 10 being accidentally exposed to porn when there just looking at maybe an older sibling Facebook page or email account and then they just don't realize what could potentially be there. I think it's also concerning because again going back five years. The pornography event so pervasive that one study found 70% of the light and 50% of teen girl popcorn acceptable and I would say at the pediatrician. The having a cell phone and that the phenomenon texting, sharing, explicit pictures between boyfriend girlfriend. I think that also plays in the acceptance of perhaps harder point makes me think back to not that long ago when we were wanting parents about having good filtering software on their computers at home working at our public schools and libraries. But now children are killing access to the Internet around with them all day long with their cell phones and potentially other devices. The transformation has really taken place in a virtual.

Tom and I would venture to say is probably either call a lot of parents off guard, or to simply absolute flown under the radar screen where the media cost of access is available to any child that has a cell phone practically 24 hours a day and the need for parents to be aware to be in tune with what their children are viewing both on computer and on other devices is so critically important. Absolutely I think you're right now and will pointless yet to go to your trip like door or wherever, but now it will click away and I think that the best thing parents can do it. Not only have the filtering for sure have also talked with your kid about some parents integrate the filters or I am your kid felt on you or whatnot without telling the kid that infected better to take the opposite approach is just to be upfront with you can think about cell phone.

I have four children and we were upfront with them about why they would not own a cell phone before ninth grade.

That would be their eighth grade graduation gift would be felt on and even at that it would not have Internet access, but why we were doing at any deal with being different from a lot of it appears in that regard that has labor only very open and he accepted that I have two children in hospital in public school. Now there's almost an expectation by several of their teachers that the students will have devices that have Internet access with the can use for research during class throughout the school day libraries as well as at home, talking about how consistent exposure to pornography really can distort all young man's view of women and a woman's view of her own self-worth. Brain Currently estimate where I'm with Christian parents saying that our sexuality is a gift and in particular when I'm speaking family or believe. I encourage that hearing children at sexuality simply a gift from God that we reserve the gift of ourselves reserved for husband or wife beautiful in effect all our whole sexuality article person is a beautiful gift. In contrast to what what the kids will absorb if there watching porn and in foreign it's just about gifting is about taking an actual letter for usually one person said just using sexuality to just the physical pleasure of one person at the expense of another, and usually that the woman in particular is viewed as a thing she said to I and and we know through studying men together who are hooked on porn they have a much more callous you toward women and they are much more accepting the idea of abusing women and even rate from girls perspective porn and it totally reduce her self-worth to just whatever skin deep and the concept that only important or valuable. If she is sexually appealing to me and and that she exists just to please a man. Even to the degree of being emotionally, verbally abused or even physically actually abused horrible messages that are just woven into her psyche as she becomes repeatedly opposed to the mission younger child begins exposed to or practicing those behaviors are likely they are to continue the answer, dive deeper and deeper H drugs, alcohol, and viewing pornography. You pediatrician consider pornography to be similar to a drug or alcohol addiction or some other form of addiction more researchers study bring tennis tree and brain activity were finding that Warren triggers the same addiction hormone SQL in the brain at the same one that is triggered by drugs and alcohol. And this is a specially harmful to kids because their brains are not fully mature. And so for that reason that for the younger a child is when they first start smoking, drinking, using Dragon or viewing porn that addiction can be more quickly acquired and more difficult to overcome. Based on this awareness. Obviously, the American College of pediatricians is urging pediatricians across the country to discuss the home to pornography with young patients and their parents as a pediatrician your so how do you handle discussing this topic with the parents of adolescents, your patients and those adolescents themselves in a way that is both age-appropriate and respectful of parental rights and effective in getting this message out there so that the parents and children, all are aware of the homes of this at three different stages of development. When I have faded to three-year-old and young children are discovering their private part and I'm sure have already had conversations with their parent that to some degree or another, and I encourage parents if their children bring questions up about their private parts are you talking typically about modesty in my dating heart. No point you teach children that are private part that here just with mommy you mommy and daddy are the doctor for shaming reason that because they are beautiful and precious gift from God. For example, the starting family at their little bit older and are going to be exposed.

Maybe using computers not under your supervision or playing games on phone with Internet access.

I encourage parents that their children now we honey sometime you can add pictures might come up that are that the price you or make you feel happy or confused or maybe even guilty if you ever see something that bothers you that makes you feel yucky. Please tell me I'm I will help you. I will help you play or not you not being explicit. Your your honing in on anything. Dear Bob, I know about it at the parent that accounted in terms be helpful for the child and come to you versus someone else and then when I am dealing with. And now the middle school age where particularly we can have a conversation about no sometime middle schoolers and inappropriate pictures across their cell phone and I can kind of meeting with discussion family and time with it parent in the room and so that that's generally how I would go about it and then by the time you tasteful you can be again little more explicit talking out on you now pornography pretty prevalent among high school high schoolers and even had the rent to both parent and the teenager who had pediatrician we've typically known them for years. At that point be very respectful and it's the type of topic that I would always introduce with the parent present in particular I've known them over the years, it becomes easier to have, conversation, if parents want for more detailed examples of how his answer children questions about sexuality in general one but then I do encourage parents to look up and purchase is called question kids ask about back and it is sold and published by the medical and sexual health and also before you have to leave and were just about out of time for this week, Dr. Patel, but I want to let you have an opportunity to tell our listeners where they can go to learn more about the American College of pediatricians and also find out more about the policy statement that you published again entitled the impact of photography own children, and encourage all your listeners to learn more about how to pediatrician. You can find a EP.org a EP EDS.org, Dr. Michelle could tell. I want to thank you so much for taking time out of what we know is a very busy schedule to be with us today on family policy matters and for the great work that you do the American College of pediatricians, family policy matters. Information and analysis, future of the North Carolina family policy Council join us weekly for discussion on policy issues affecting the family. If you have questions or comments, please contact 919807081 or visit our website and see family doctor watching